FinanceMalta and Malta Enterprise travelled to Hong Kong to establish closer links with players in finance and industry at a number of important conferences and events. The visit followed that of a delegation to China and the Malta stand at the Expo in Shanghai.

FinanceMalta held a number of meetings with potential investors as part of its drive to persuade overseas finance industry players to invest in Malta based on its credentials as a European finance centre with a fast-growing reputation.

This was summarised by Mr. L’ecuyer, Head of Business Development for FinanceMalta, who said “Hong Kong is widely recognised as the third most important financial centre in the world, both in terms of assets under management and the diversity of its value proposition. International investors continue to use Hong Kong as a vehicle for investing into China (and vice versa) as a vehicle for investing in other economies such as Europe.

“In this respect, Malta is well positioned to service these potential investors. Our visit has been extremely positive, the interest shown towards Malta has been overwhelming, our private event attracted 50 participants, particular in the funds and insurance sector. We are now planning a return visit in the first three months of 2011.”

The trip to Hong Kong included networking at the Society of Trust & Estates Practitioners (STEP) Asian Conference following an invitation by the STEP conference CEO who was in Malta in October. Delegates who attended came from multi-disciplinary backgrounds in the finance industry, all of whom are potential ambassadors for Malta as a Mediterranean financial jurisdiction. The delegation included senior personnel from HSBC, KPMG, Bentley Reid Trust and Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, all of whom sponsored this event.